Intertwined Paths
by Sekaira
Summary: AU. Mikan lives with her harsh step dad Kuonji and her brother Youchi, when she gets the chance to run away she and Youchi end up in Tokyo. Here without her step dad's cruel orders can Mikan find a new life for herself and Youchi? Well Natsume Hyuuga who's threatening to bring her back to the world she left sure isn't helping, but that doesn't stop Mikan trying to save him.
1. An Introduction to my Life

**Hi, I'm Sekaira and this is my first Gakuen Alice fic! I've actually had this ready for months but I had it written down instead of typed on my computer and I just couldn't be bothered to type it up - Do you get that too? **

**But besides that this is my story intertwined paths (the title will make much more sense later I promise you) It's an AU story that focuses around Mikan, and of course it's a MikanxNatsume fic because really is there any couple more perfect for each other? There will also be some MisakixTsubasa and some HotoruxRuka. If there are any other pairings that you'd like me to include then please just PM me or leave it in a review. **

**Now IMPORTANT stuff - I am rating this story a T because that's what I believe it is, BUT I am going to issue a WARNING, this story is going to deal with some really dark and controversial topics like: prostitution, drugs, gangs, self harm and some strong language. HOWEVER none of these are going to be particularly explicit at all - mostly because I know very little about such things, they are merely there to help with the plot. This story should be fine for a T rated story but I wanted to warn anyone who didn't want to read a dark fic or doesn't like such things because I don't really want any hates or flames in the reviews. **

**Phew... Now that that's over with, here's the story and don't forget to Rate and Review!**

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**Chapter 1 – An Introduction to my Life**

**Mikan P.O.V**

I roll out of bed at a really early time in the morning. It's 3:30am, that's ridiculous if you're a normal person but… well, I'm not exactly a normal person.

Quickly I scoop my clothes off the floor where they lie in a crumpled heap. I assess myself quickly in the mirror, I'm wearing a gold coloured dress which is very short and rather low cut. With it I am wearing gold heels that match my toffee coloured hair which falls in ringlets down my back. I look like a prostitute. That's not really surprising though, because that's what I am. Yep, me, Mikan Yukihara, a prostitute, it's definitely not the job I was dreaming of when I was a little kid.

Behind me a rather fat man, with a beard, who reeks of alcohol rolls over in bed. I shudder involuntary. I hate my job. I grab my cash and stuff it in my handbag before making a hasty escape.

Now you may think that a young 17 year old girl walking through the streets at 3 in the morning wearing… wearing what I'm wearing, is likely to be preyed on, but no one comes close to me. They know who I am. My gang leader is big time in this small town. He's not even the real leader of the gang 'black sun', he's just the lackey of a real big-time gang leader. He pleased the gang leader somehow so he got put in charge of this place. I don't even want to think about what he did to please the gang leader.

I start trudging wearily up the steps that lead to my apartment, thinking longingly of my bed and sleep. I'm exhausted. As soon as I open the door though, Kuonji, my step-dad, comes out to greet me.

"You're late" he sneers, he holds out his hands, "Money" he states.

Yeah, as well as being my step-father, he's also the gang leader of this area, so now you can see how I got into this mess. I open my handbag and hand him a wad of cash, carefully hiding some of the money from his view.

"Not enough" he slurs, leaning closer so that I can smell the alcohol in his breath.

He drunkenly swings a punch at me and I dodge out of the way. If I'm lucky he'll leave me alone now, if not, well… you can probably guess. He backs away into the kitchen and I think I've gotten lucky but he stumbles back and thrusts a parcel at me.

"Delivery" he mumbles, "hurry and get changed."

I sigh inwardly, sleeping is going to have to wait. I grab the parcel and disappear through a door to the left which leads to mine and my brother's bedroom.

The apartment we live in is only a one bedroom apartment and kuonji has the bedroom which leaves me fairly certain that this room is supposed to be a cupboard. Certainty there is only just enough room for one bed, a titchy bit of floor space and a few shelves above the bed where we keep our few belongings and clothes.

I never used to mind how small my room was, when I was little I used to pretend I was a fairy in a little glen, which explains the fairy lights hung above the head of the bed. They come back from the happy moments in my childhood whe- Ow.

I hiss quietly through my teeth to absorb the pain in my elbow, where I hit it against the door frame. I could really use a slightly bigger room now. I crouch down to check that youichi is still asleep. He's tucked up in the bed that we share and is, thankfully, still asleep. A fond smile tugs at my face, seeing youichi always makes me happy, that I can have someone to love.

Love hurts. I know that all too well. The ones you love leave you. First dad died, then mum. The friends I loved left, even kuonji, who I used to love back when he hid his true self from me. So I don't let myself love anymore, I can't deal with the pain it brings to my heart, as if it is getting continually ripped from my body and torn apart, leaving me to salvage the remains. The only person I let myself love is Youichi. I'm sure that Youichi won't leave me. What scares me is that I might have to leave him. I don't ever want that.

I ruffle his soft black, almost silver hair lovingly and in the soft light I check the large purple bruise on his forehead. He didn't trip or walk into anything – he's not a klutz like me. So how did he get his bruise? Kuonji hit him. Yeah, you heard right, Kuonji's a sick bastard who doesn't think twice about beating up a little four year old.

"Hurry up" comes the yell. Crap Kuonji's angry. I tug my black hoodie over my head to match my black jeans and top. I grab my diary and a pen and hurriedly mark a tally on a page covered in marks. Then I bend down and swiftly kiss Youchi's forehead before edging out of our cupboard.

Kuonji's eyeing me as I come out. "I'll be going now," I say, forcing a smile on my face as I grab the parcel and for the second time today, make a hasty escape.

It's fairly warm outside and I can see the suns rays peeking through the buildings. Unfortunately that's _not _a good sign. Few people know I'm a gang member outside of the gang and I'd prefer to keep it that way.

I walk hurriedly up the path to a nice detached house with flowers and plants in a flowerbed next to a neat lawn. It's defiantly not the sort of place you'd expect someone like me to be visiting. But, as they say, you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover.

Now you may be wondering what this parcel I'm carrying is. I'll give you a clue. It's something I could go to prison for having on me.

I reach forward to ring the doorbell once I reach the door. The bell is awkwardly placed to the right of the front door, almost hidden beneath some of the trellising ivy that covers the house.

A tall figure comes forward, he notices who I am and opens the door eagerly. He's high. I recognise the signs, I've seen them in Kuonji, in his countless customers, in my mum and… in myself.

I'm suddenly filled with a strong sense of want, no need. I need the rush, the feeling of calmness, that nobody can hurt me, that feeling of bliss… an image of Youchi slams to the front to the front of my mind. No, it's not a need, it's a want and I won't do it. I gave drugs up years ago and I'm never going back.

I shove the parcel forward, wanting to get out of here as fast as I can. He grabs the money and thrusts it at me, one hand already on the parcel. I take the money and stuff it in my bag, letting go of the parcel. He takes it in both hands and is looking at it as if Christmas has come early.

"Thanks" he says gruffly.

As I do the latch on my bag I can't help but yawn. I eye him warily before making up my mind. "I'm not coming to school today." I tell him. He glances up at me and I can see his brow furrow slightly.

"Right, I'll sort that out. Somehow."

I nod and turn as he starts closing the door. I'm walking down the crazy paving pathway when he calls after me.

"wait!"

I turn around.

He's back at the door and he's waving a letter in his hand. My heart leaps as I recognise Misaki-nee's handwriting. I hurry forward and grab the letter.

"Don't tell anyone." I say glancing up at him.

He nods. "So long as you don't either."

I smile guiltily as he pats me on the back as I start walking back to the apartment. I've done a lot of bad in my life but blackmailing was still pretty new to me. After Misaki-nee and Tsubasa-nii moved away Kuonji forbade me from contacting them. So I found a way that meant Kuonji would never know. We sent letters through him instead. He never told anyone. Afterall, what would happen if it turned out that the headmaster of the school was a heroin addict?

I still felt a bit bad though because he'd always been nice to me. He may be an addict but I've never seen him turn to violence. The blackmailing did come in handy though. I got to contact Misaki-nee and Tsubasa-nii and it got me out of school on days like today.

It's silent at the apartment when I get back. I tiptoe in, hoping that Kuonji is asleep. I place my bag on the kitchen counter, tug my jumper off and bend down to open the cupboard for something to eat.

I cry out as a sharp tug on my hair forces me upright. Kuonji is stood there in front of me with a cruel sneer on his face. "You're a theif" he says lowly, his mouth is right by my ear so I can hear him grinding his teeth in anger.

Well, I technically am a thief. From petty theft like food because Kuonji had forgotten to feed us to full on burglary because I was too scared of Kuonji to say 'no' to his orders.

But looking at him now, I don't think that he was implying to either of those situations.

"I called, and he said that he paid more than you've given me" he yells out; starting to kick me and punch me between each word.

I try to dodge but I already know that it's a futile effort. The kitchen counter behind me, Kuonji in front. In short, I'm trapped.

"How do you know he's not lying or too drunk to remember?" I ask, wondering if I can talk my way out of this. My arm is already stinging from the force of his punches.

"With what I threatened him with, he wouldn't dare lie or forget" Kuonji whispered, a dangerous note to his voice.

I gulp. I know quite well what Kuonji is capable of, I've seen him kill, enemy or own he didn't mind, nothing stood in his way. I reckoned that the only reason that I was still around was that I was too useful and I'd threatened the police if he killed Youchi.

"So what did you do with the money?!" His voice raises with each word as he sounded them out carefully, each syllable individually to make sure I got the message.

Oh, I got the message alright. I just wasn't going to talk.

"I don't know you mean!" I cry out, as he aims another punch, Kuonji's quite hefty so he can put a lot of weight behind his punches. He practiced boxing too. "Maybe I didn't pick it all up!" I duck as he aims a punch to my face, but end up with a kick to the gut instead.

I sink to the floor and wrap my arms around my legs so that I'm a curled lump on the floor. I'm refusing to cry. My back is stinging from where he's kicking me with his steel tipped boots and the floor feels cold beneath my cheek.

Vaguely I become aware that he's stopped kicking me, however I can still hear his heavy footfalls and the curses his muttering under his breath. I hear several thuds and I realize that he's emptying the contents of my bag, as I peek upwards cautiously I notice that my letter from Misaki-nee has fallen right infront of my nose. Crap, it was in the bag. I glance upwards again towards Kuonji wondering whether he's noticed it, it doesn't seem like it, he's too busy counting the money. I debate mentally on what would be best to do. Do I grab the letter and therefore bring attention to it? Or do I leave it in the hope he doesn't notice it?

Another yank at my hair brings me out of my thoughts, I stumble to my feet and stand on the letter, kicking it slightly so that it slides under the fridge. I'll have to see if I can get to it later.

Kuonji is dragging me, by my hair, towards my cupboard. He yanks the door open harshly so that light streams into the room. I watch as Youchi stirs slightly as the morning light falls on his face. His peaceful sleep is rudely interrupted though when Kuonji reaches out and grabs him by the arm and jerks him upright, waking Youchi up instantly. "Wha-" Youchi cuts off when he notices Kuonji's expression and terrified expression crosses his own face, when he notices me he turns an odd colour of grey, as if all the colour had been drained out of him, completely ashen. No doubt that I look like a train just hit me. My bruises hurt.

Kuonji turned to me with such a fierce gaze that I can feel the hairs at the back of my neck stand on end and my left foot shuffles backwards a centimetre. I'm terrified.

"What else have you stolen?" Kuonji growled at me, tossing Youchi to one side. Youchi hits the wall and lets out a small yelp before slumping to the floor. Kuonji releases my hair and starts searching the room.

I hurry over to Youchi who has sat up and is rubbing the back of his head where it hit the wall. "Are you ok?" Stupid question I know. He obviously wasn't ok.

"I'll be fine" he replied. I place him on my lap and the two of us watch as Kuonji tears our room apart. I flinch as he throws my fairy lights to the floor but I make no move to go and get them. Unknown to Kuonji I had shifted slightly so that Youchi and I were sat by the door on the wooden floor. More specifically on top of the loose floorboard where the money I had stolen and saved was hidden. There was no way I was letting Kuonji know about this stash.

After about an hour of searching and finding nothing in this tiny cupboard that has now been turned upside-down you'd have expected Kuonji to have calmed down. But nope, there Kuonji stood, panting and red in the face – probably from pure rage, madder than ever. He turns towards me, "Where have you hidden it!" He yells grabbing me by the neck of my t-shirt forcing me stand upright, and for Youchi to fall out of my lap.

"I haven't hidden anything!" I lie.

That look of pure and utter disgust he gives me just then, shakes me to my very core. It's worse than any other before. I don't think I ever truly realised just how much he hated me until this point. I think that I really am lucky to still be alive.

He's strong too. I may be small and thin but I'm still 17 and he's lifted me off the ground, leaving me hanging by my t-shirt with ease. With a sudden ferocious movement he throws me backwards with such force that all of the air is knocked out of my lungs. I hear a sickening crack and I wonder absently what I've hit. The back of my head throbs painfully but I can't seem to move my arms, my visions blurry and it's getting darker. I can taste an almost coppery taste in my mouth and my body feels so… light. The last thing I see before I black out is a small figure crouching over me, a panicked expression on his face.

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**Chapter 1 finished! I hope you liked it! Again please Rate and Review because it would mean a lot to me if you did so.**

**Sorry that there's no Natsume in this chapter, he will be introduced in Chapter 3 I promise you!**

**As a side note Kuonji is the ESP's name, I wasn't sure if anyone would know because I had to look it up for myself. **


	2. Happy Belated Birthday

**A/N Hi! Sorry this took so long to get up, things have been hectic here because... I'm going away on holiday! I can't wait, lots of sun where I'm going, which is great compared to the grey skies we have over here in England, we had a bit of summer here as it was sunny for a while but I looked up the weather where I'm going and the coldest day there is the equivalent of hottest day of the year over here. I'd better take lots of sun cream!**

**But anyway enough of me babbling on, here's chapter two of Intertwined Paths please rate&review as I'd love to hear what you've got to say.**

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Chapter 2 – Happy Belated Birthday

Mikan's POV

I think I'm dead.

Everything is completely dark so doesn't that mean I'm dead? My whole body aches though. Is death supposed to be painful?

Maybe I'm in hell and this pain is my punishment for all the wrong I did. After all I did a lot wrong.

"-kan"

I twist slightly, wincing at the pain it causes, I thought I'd heard someone. I dismiss it, I'm too tired to care.

"Mikan!" The voice is a bit louder this time. I attempt to look around, see where this person is but all I can see is darkness.

"Mikan-Onee-chan!"

I pause as the voice calls out again, louder, more insistent. The voice is fairly high-pitched which makes me think that it is the voice of a child. It also sounds familiar, tugging at my heartstrings and yet making me feel more relaxed, the sort of feeling you get when your around someone you love. Someone I love…

"Youchi!" I cry, opening my eyes to find that I'm still in the dark, but my eyes gradually adjust so that I can see the cracks of light coming through the cupboard door, enough light to illuminate the small face of an anxious looking Youchi.

I sit bolt upright, panicked as my memories tumble haphazardly back into my mind. Ouch. Sitting up was a bad ides I realize quickly as the throbbing at the back of my head increases. I lie back down slowly, glancing at the clock as I do so. I settle back down, carefully arranging my head on the pillow without irritating it, then I sit upright again abruptly and grab the clock.

The clock is telling me that it 6:15am, but the last time I saw the clock it said it was 6:45am. Either I've been knocked out for -30 minutes or…

"Youchi" I whisper, my voice feels hoarse and weak. "How long have a been out?"

Youchi pauses and I start panicking, what if I've been out for a week? Or even more!

"About two days" Youchi answers.

"Two days…" I murmur, that's not too bad. It could have been worse.

I reach out one hand and rest it on Youchi's cheek. In the half-light I can see my arm but it's no longer a sickly pale white colour it's stained with a multitude of purple bruises.

Youchi places one small hand on my arm and I flinch at the pain. He takes his hand off instantly. "After you fell unconscious he didn't stop" his voice is quiet and soft, "I'm sorry" he cries. A rarity for Youchi he's normally so impassive, to that same boy in front of me now crying his heart out tugs at my heart. I can't forget that I'm the cause of this. I feel something wet fall into my palm and ignoring the pain I pull Youchi towards me, into a hug. Comforting him.

"It's not your fault" I tell him.

"But I could've-" I shush him softly.

"You can't stop him when he's like that" I remind him.

A sharp knock at the door interrupts my thoughts and I glance up. Someone is stood in front of the door blocking the little light we had coming in.

"I'm heading out," Kuonji's harsh voice comes, echoing through our little room. "You can stay in there again you little brat."

He thinks that I'm still unconscious I realize; it's probably best if it stays that way. Youchi doesn't answer either. We listen together, silently, waiting for Kuonjis heavy footsteps to move away and for the thud of the apartment door.

I breathe a sigh of relief once he's gone. "has he been keeping you in here all this time?" I ask. Youchi nods slightly and another thought occurs to me, "has he been feeding you?" Youchi's silence is all the answer I need. "Then let's go get something!" I say brightly, fixing a smile on my face. Too bad it's fake, I struggle even to smile properly for Youchi anymore. I don't know how.

My fingers fumble for the shelf they skim over a crusty patch of dried blood, so that's what I hit when Kuonji threw me. I reach up further and search for one of my hair grips then I get up, admittedly swaying slightly to begin with, and fiddle with the lock for a little while. Why Kuonji doesn't bolt the door is beyond me, he knows quite well that I can pick locks.

With the cupboard door unlocked light floods into the room, leaving Youchi and I blinking at the sheer brightness of it.

"Try not to touch anything" I tell Youchi, "we don't want Kuonji to know that we got out. We'll get ready and we'll go out and I'll buy you breakfast ok?" Youchi just nods and a semblance of a smile crosses my face, he's gone back to being his normal stoic self. I ruffle his hair and tell him to go get dressed as I head to the bathroom.

I shut my eyes and open them again that some sort of miraculous miracle will have occurred while I couldn't see. But nothing's changed. I've been sat in front of the mirror for about 10 minutes trying to find a part of me that still looks like me. Nearly the whole of my body is covered in purple splotches. My face isn't too bad I consider thoughtfully. There are just two brusies, one on my forehead and another on my left cheek. I tilt my head slightly assessing them and decide that they could be easily covered up with make-up. The bruises that litter my body can be hidden beneath trousers and hoodies. It's the back of my head though that's really bad, my hair has been dyed red with my blood, it looks like Youchi tore up one of my old tops to make a make-shift bandage. I need to put another bandage on but the more pressing issue is how can I hide it?

Deciding to figure that out later, I try rinsing the blood out of my hair. It's not working very well. I grab a hairband and tie my hair up in a messy bun. I've kept it loose so that it doesn't hurt my head too much. I tear up another top and wrap the bandage like strips round my head. Then I cover the bruises on my face with concealer and with a little powder on top you can hardly notice the bruises. I pull on a comfy pair of old jeans and a plain top, then I tug one of my oversized hoodies on top and flip the hood up. Much better. I've done a pretty good job. There's no signs of bruises or of my blood stained hair, the large lump on the back of my head and the bandages are all out of sight beneath the hood.

I stare at myself in the mirror. I almost feel like laughing, here I am, with bruises covering my body from head to toe and what I'm most worried about is how to hide them. For all I know there could be permanent damage. I touch my ribs gently and flinch at the pain. Maybe it's fractured. I'm not sure, but what difference would it make whether I knew or not? – What could I do about it?

Next I head back to our cupboard and prise up the loose floorboard and take out £100. I'd started hoarding money up years ago. Saving it up in case something really bad happened. It's only been a couple of years though since I started keeping some of Kuonji's 'black' money for myself. I occasionally took money out of my little store for food, clothes for Youchi and presents for Youchi.

Youchi appears at the cupboard door. "Let's get going then!" I say fixing a kind smile on my face.

I'm about to leave the apartment with Youchi when I spot the fridge. Misaki-nee's letter! I kicked it under the fridge! I scramble over to the fridge and place my cheek against the cool tiles. I can see it. I stretch out my arm and try to reach it but my arm can't reach far into the small gap between the fridge and the floor.

Youchi comes forward and peeks under the fridge too, he spots the letter and reaches out a skinny arm to grab it.

"Thanks Youchi!" I exclaim.

Youchi just nods and I smile back in response.

"Let's get breakfast then shall we?" I ask, offering him my hand. Silently Youchi slips his hand into mine and, holding Misaki-nee's letter tightly in my other hand, we head out of the apartment together.

Once we reach the café I surprise myself with how un-hungry I am. I pick up a croissant and look towards Youchi. "What do you want to start with?" I question, "You can have as much as you want."

A small smile crosses Youchi's face and he points at the bacon sandwich the person in front of us has ordered. "Sure!" I say.

An hour later and I've nibbled my way through my croissant and Youchi has eaten his way through; a bacon buttie, a sausage buttie, a full English breakfast, two pain au chocolat and five glasses of orange juice.

And now I'm sat here. With Misaki-nee's letter in my hand. Slowly I turn it over and open the letter and pull out several sheets of paper and a small prettily wrapped parcel falls onto the table. I pick up the parcel and turn it over in my hand, it's rectangular and about the length of my palm. I shake it; the parcel jangles. I put it down on the table and resolve to open it after I've read the letter.

_To Mikan,_

_Happy Birthday Mikan! Or more likely Happy Belated Birthday by the time you read this letter!_

I break off from reading and look around the shop. There it is, a calander and it's marked off until the 24th of July. I missed my own birthday! My birthday is on the 17th of July. I'm 18! Not 17! Dazedly, I carry on reading.

_You're 18 now Mikan, wow it's been a long time. I remember meeting you when you were only 13! On a serious note now Mikan-chan, Tsubasa and I have a propersition for you. You're 18 now so Kuonji has no legal hold over you anymore, so we want you to come and join us in Tokyo! Of course you need to bring Youchi but we can sort that out. Please consider this Mikan, I know that Kuonji scares you but you can have a second chance with us! I even believe that I could set you up with a job at my workplace. Tsubasa and I would love, love, love to have you here with us so please, please ,please come._

_I'll give you all the news soon._

_Love you lots,_

_Misaki & Tsubasa xxx_

A second chance…

I pick up the parcel and open it. A small apartment key with a keychain saying 'Mikan' on it.

I look up at Youchi who's currently slurping his juice while his mouth is smeared with crumbs and chocolate.

"Youchi, how do you feel about moving away?" I ask.

Youchi pauses, contemplating carefully, "without Kuonji?"

"Without Kuonji. The two of us together." I reply.

Another of those rare smiles graces Youchi's face as he nods.

I smile back, "let's get ready then!" I say. Quickly I pay for our meal and we head out of the shop back to the apartment. Along the way I drop into the camping shop, just off the main road and buy one of those hold-all bags for us to pack some stuff in.

On the way back I'm considering how to get to Tokyo from here without Kuonji finding out. Stealing a car would alert everybody even though it would be the quickest way. That leaves the train. So we need to look like everyday train passengers. Once we get back I realize that we look far too conspicuous as a hooded girl and a young child, so I need to come up with some sort of disguise.

I start running the bath and give Youchi the job of keeping an eye on it.

Meanwhile I am in our cupboard packing. I pull out some of Youchi's jeans, a casual shirt and a jumper as well as his trainers and place them on the bed ready for after his bath. I pick out some smart shoes, a simple skirt, stockings and a plain top and jacket for me deciding that if I apply my make-up correctly that I could pass for someone in their mid-twenties. The trick to this look is the mature clothes and because there's nothing bulky like jeans, a heavy coat or a hood it doesn't look as if I've got anything to hide. I'd have preferred leggings or tights to cover the bruises on my legs compared to stockings but I don't own any so these will have to do. Together Youchi and I could pass as mother and child this way. That shouldn't attract to much attention.

I grab a small backpack and fill it with a spare change of clothes for Youchi and all of his few toys. At this point Youchi calls for me and I hurry through to the bathroom and turn off the bath. Soon enough Youchi is in the bath lazing around and making shapes out of bubbles. Youchi's in better condition than I am. The bruise on his forehead is almost gone and is basically invisible. The only other bruise is on his arm where Kuonji grabbed him a few days ago. I poked him softly on the bruise and he told me that it still stung slightly but not as much as it did. I decided that it would be best to leave it to heal by itself, the jumper would cover it.

"You stay in here for a bit while I finish packing ok?" I tell him. Youchi turns towards me and nods before going back to playing with the bubbles. I head out of the bathroom and back into the cupboard, making sure to leave the door open so that I can hear Youchi call if he needs me.

I decide to pack all of Youchi's clothes as he doesn't have many of them, they barely fill a third of the bag. When it comes to my stuff I realize that I don't want most of it. Most of my clothes are associated with bad memories, Prostitution, drug dealing, racing. I've done them all. I pack a few normal clothes and reluctantly pack two changes of prostitution clothes and two changes of black jeans, tops and hoodies. Just in case.

I head back to the bathroom and carefully start washing Youchi, shampooing his hair and rinsing out the suds making sure that none goes into his eyes. I lift him out of the bath and dry him quickly before he gets cold. I towel-dry his hair as he sits in front of the mirror. Then I help him get dressed and hand him his backpack, first taking out a game of snap for him to play with. I pat him on the head and tell him to keep an eye on the door of the apartment for Kuonji.

I head back into the bathroom and let the water in the bath drain away. I head to the shower and change the setting to soft so that it doesn't hurt the dull throbbing at the back of my head. Soon enough I'm under the warm jets of water, carefully rinsing the streaks of red blood out of my hair. I daren't use shampoo or conditioner for fear of irritating the wound. Instead I wash my body and hope that my hair will be clean enough without using shampoo.

After I get out I leave my hair to dry naturally while I get dressed. Without the use of shampoo my hair dries quickly and I gather it up into a neat, but loose, bun over the wound so that you can't see the lump. I quickly start applying make-up and once I've finished I can easily pass for a 25 year-old. It's not just the make-up and clothes though. I feel like I've aged before my time and that shows.

I pick up all my make-up, our toothbrushes, toothpaste, flannels and shampoo and conditioner and chuck them haphazardly in our bag to take with us. Last of all I place my precious diary at the top and zip the bag up. Done.

I head over to Youchi and have to tap him on the shoulder to get his attention away from the house of cards he's built. He carefully places the last card on at the top of the pyramid and instantly the whole thing collapsed.

"It always falls over" Youchi says staring sadly at the messy pile of cards.

"Don't worry" I say bending down to scoop up the cards and place them back into the backpack. "You can try again at Misaki-nee's, I'm sure that you'll manage it then." Youchi stands up and as we leave he slips his hand into mine. Once outside I take one last glance at the apartment and an intense feeling of relief washes over me. I lug the bag over my shoulder and squeeze Youchi's hand comfortingly.

I'm not ever coming back.

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**A/N Well there it is, sorry that nothing much exciting happened here but I promise that Natsume and Mikan will meet in the next chapter! Anyone have any idea how they will meet? If anyone guesses it I will be very impressed since I think it's quite unique, in fact if anyone does guess I'll have to come up with some sort of prize, you could be a character in the story if you like! So have a go guessing! The next chapter might or might not be uploaded tomorrow, it depends on how busy I am so no promises there! But after that I won't be able to upload for a week.**

**By the way, I have got a cover image for this story but for whatever reason it won't upload properly has anyone else had that problem where you've cropped an image while designing but then it's not cropped when uploaded. If anyone could me sort out this problem I'd be really, really grateful so please help.**

**Please rate and review it means a lot to me.**


	3. Welcome to Tokyo

**A/N I'm So Sorry! I promised this ages ago! But being the klutz I am I only went and lost the notebook witch had chapter 3 in it. However it has finally been found which is why you are finally getting this chapter where Mikan and Natsume meet. **

**Please do rate and review my story though, it makes me really happy and encourages me to keep writing.**

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Chapter 3 – Welcome to Tokyo

**Mikan's POV**

Two hours later and Youchi and I are sat on a train heading to Tokyo. The largest city in Japan. Surely even Kuonji can't find us there.

Buying the train tickets had been the hardest part. I wanted us to be as unmemorable as possible. Youchi understood. I don't know how but for a four year-old he's incredible perceptive. Instead of being his normal stoic self as I stood in front of the ticket counter, he stared wide-eyed around the station before running around me in circles chugging like a train. I smiled gratefully, if we couldn't be un-noticed then it was best to not be like ourselves.

"Two one-way tickets to Tokyo please," I ask "one adult, one child."

The ticket lady glances over at Youchi then back at me, the smile never faltering. Inside I'm feeling incredible relieved, the make-up and outfit make me pass for a 25 year-old, a suitable age for a young mother.

"One way? How come?" the lady asks conversationally with a bright smile as she starts tapping something into the computer she's sat by. I suppress a groan, a chatty ticket lady, exactly what I need. Not.

I place a bright smile on my face and answer anyway. "My sister's fallen sick. I need to go and look after her and I don't know when I'll be back so…" I say, trailing off knowing that she'll have gotten the gist of my lie. Possibly saying Mum would have been more realistic than sister but I couldn't bear to.

"I see" the lady says nodding along to my story, handing me my tickets. "I hope your sister gets better soon!" she called after me as I walked off to the platform Youchi's hand tucked into mine.

I sigh as I relieve the situation as I stare out of the window watching absently as the views hurtle past at 100 miles an hour. The naïve fool didn't even ask our names. Not that I would have given her our real ones.

The ratteling of the train stirs me out of my remincising and I focus on Youchi instead.I think that Youchi likes trains, he's keeping his normal stoic face but if you look carefully than you can see a small sparkle in his eyes that lets me know he's happy. I smile in content. We're free Youchi, I think, a new start. In a new town, sure it's Tokyo, there'll be more gangs but I don't need to involve myself with any of them. I can go live with Misaki-nee and Tsubasa-nii, get a job, send Youchi to school and settle down. I close my eyes happily imagining it all but a jolt in the train wakes me from my daydreams and I narrow my eyes as the train trundles on. I seriously doubt it will be that easy.

"Well Youchi, welcome to Tokyo!" I say once we arrive. Despite having only been to Tokyo once myself. Back when I was like three so I don't even remember anything. "Come on Youchi," I say "I'll buy us lunch and find a map and we'll find our way over to Misaki-nee's and Tsubasa-nii's ok?"

Youchi nods and we start wandering our way away from the train station, hoping to find a café. We're not that close to the centre of the city, closer to the subhurbs. Sort of inbetween the two actually, on the outskirts of the city. There are still shops and such around though, just not the big branded stores, smaller ones instead. It's not as busy either. There are lots of people around but there is still plenty of space. It reminds me a bit of the highstreet back home. No, not home, this is home now.

I'm so lost in thought that I don't notice Youchi tugging at my sleeve. I turn around to face him and he points towards a little coffee shop. It's a quaint looking place, sort of aimed for families but what draws my attention is the stack of tourist leaflets and maps stacked by the till.

"This one then Youchi," I say as he tugs me along so that we're stood in the air-conditioned shop. It's lovely compared to the sweltering heat outside. I buy a cheese and ham sandwich for Youchi and pick up a salad for myself. I'm not feeling particularly hungry. I also pick up a carton of apple juice and a chocolate chip muffin for Youchi, then once we reach the till I order a coffee, (milk, two sugars) pay and sit down. Grabbing a map as I do so.

Youchi tucks in hungrily while I pick at my salad and open the map. Misaki-nee and Tsubasa-nii's apartment is nearby, I know that much, so I concentrate on finding the street name and using that to find the apartments. I take a long sip of my coffee as I trace the street line with my finger working my way back to were we are now. I work it out to be a couple of miles away. I wait patiently for Youchi to finish while a finish of my coffee and move my salad round my plate as if I were a little kid trying to look like they'd eaten more than I actually had.

Youchi finishes up and I return the map to the till, noticing as I fold it up that halfway along the path I traced there's a back road that would make getting there quicker. I then hurry into the toilets at the coffee shop having decided to wash off the make-up and look more my age. I splash my face with the water, trade my heels for trainers, unbutton my jacket, re-apply some make-up to cover my bruises and hitch my skirt up slightly. There. Now I look more like an 18 year old. I smile slightly and head out of the coffee shop carrying Youchi because he's been walking for quite a while.

Ok. Truthfully I just wanted to hold him close while at the back of my mind little triclets of doubt are sneaking in. I really hope I made the right decision to leave. Who knows how Kuonji will react?

Youchi silently wraps his arms round my neck and rests his head on my shoulder, closing his eyes and drifting off into sleep. I frown slightly, just how much sleep has Youchi been getting over the last few days? I summarize that the answer must have been very little because he was looking after me and also that he is now sleeping away peacefully despite having insisted to me over a year ago that he didn't need afternoon naps anymore.

For a while I just walk down the highstreet enjoying the summer sun and wishing that I didn't need to wear a long sleeved top and jacket. They were leaving me sweltering in the heat.

A couple of streets away from the highstreet and I found myself walking alongside this incredibly high brick way with a metal railing on top. What I could see of the place seemed very nice, there were lots of trees, a rariety in the city and that instantly made me like the place. I'd always preffered the country to the city. The country seemed free and peaceful. Everything I wanted but doubted I would ever get. The city, on comparison, seemed dirty and crowded. Admittedly though I like the buzz of excitement from the city. I reckoned that there would always be that part of me. The part of me that loved the thrill. If there was one criminal thing I enjoyed then it was racing. I loved it, you're going so fast that you can only think about what's directly infront of you. It was dangerous of course, one wrong turn and I'd crash and I'd die wether I was wearing a seatbelt or not. It was also dangerous for the innocents though, however much I loved racing I used to sabotage the races passed through town and the busy roads in my old town.

Right on cue a sleek black race car with a red strip sweeps past us. Youchi startles awake and clings on to me tighter. I move as close to the wall as I can. Out of the way of two, more battered looking, cars following behind. One of the cars screeches past and bats the other car out of the way so that it's veering towards us. I cringe and hurry forward as the car bonnet crumples against the wall were we were just stood.

I bend over slightly, trying to catch my breath from the adrenaline rush. It's not like I ran that far even. Youchi's clinging onto me even tighter.

"Hey are you ok?" comes a call.

I look up and realize that Youchi and I are now stood infront of a huge pair of gates that lead into the brick walled place. I looked up a bit further and saw engraved on a star at the top of the gates 'Alice Academy.' So it's a school. Nagging me at the back of my mind is a little thought that's telling me I've heard of this place before but I can't remember where.

Behind the towering iron gate a man is running towards us. Upon reaching the gate he opens up a smaller side gate and comes up towards us.

"Are you ok?" he repeats.

"Fine" I reply placing Youchi down on the ground. "Just relieved" I add glancing back at the car. The driver is slumped over the steering wheel and the right corner of the bonnet has crumpled against the wall. Whoever he is he's lucky. He'll live. Anybody in the passenger seat would have died.

"I'll call an ambulance for him" the man says looking anxiously over at the car. "You sure you don't need to go to hospital too?" he adds, digging his phone out of his pocket. I stand up straight and look at him properly for the first time. He's rather… flambountly dressed. He's wearing loose fitting purple trousers and a pale blue shirt with a purple butterfly on it. Combined with the slightly wavy blonde hair that falls at his shoulder and it's a rather girlish appearance.

"It's fine, really, I got out of the way in time" I tell him. Going to hospital would be a really _bad _idea. They'd see our wounds, ask our names, they'd be a record we were there… Altogether something I do _not _want to go through. I truly appreciate the sentiment though. "Thanks, though Mr…" I trail off realising that I don't know he's name.

"Narumi-sensei, I teach at the school here." He says pressing a final button on his phone and lifting it to his ear.

"Thank you again, Narumi-san, We'll be off now so goodbye!" I say, giving a small bow. Great. I went all-formal. I run off quickly before I can embarrass myself any further.

I don't get far before I slow down. Youchi can't run as fast as I can. He's fast for his age but I'm taller so my stride is farther and sports was always what I was best at in school. I pause looking around for a moment and realize that if we cross the road here then we can cut through the back way to create a shortcut. Looking carefully both ways, Youchi and I cross the road. I'm keeping a sharp ear out for anymore racecars. You'll hear them long before you see them.

Thankfully, we make it safely across the road. We start cutting through the estate and I'm getting more and more excited at the prospect of seeing Misaki-nee and Tsubasa-nii again. The feeling of happiness and relief crosses me again and I walk through the street with a broad smile on my face.

And then I hear the scream.

I walk cautiously down the path from where I heard the scream. Youchi is gripping my hand tightly. The alley bends of to the left and I scowl as I hear another scream. It's more like a yelp really.

As we round the corner, I spot a flash of pink that stands out in the grubby alley. It's hair I realise, a girl with curls of pink hair, her light-blue eyes wide with fright, pinned against the wall by three men with their scarves round their faces and there hoods up. I beckon to Youchi to go hide.

"Leave her alone!" I yell, successfully startling the three of them. They turn to face me. The pink-haired girl glances at me and tries to struggle free while there distracted. Unsuccessfully unfortunately.

One of them stays with the girl while the other two approach me, there laughing, which only succeeds in pissing me off even more.

"You should know who your meddling with you little pest" one of them spits out, rolling his sleeve up to reveal the inky lines of a black sun.

"Gang members of Black Sun I'm presuming," I say with a nonchalant shrug, "I've met your sort before."

They're looking really pissed off at my calmness. It's almost funny. I look behind them and swear softly, the one with the pink haired girl is trying to force himself on her. He's leaning in to try to kiss her when my shoe hits him hard in the side of his face. He stumbles slightly, the girl pulls free of him, and runs off to the side gazing anxiously back at me.

I can't stop myself. I start laughing as he walks towards me, uttering curses with a bright red mark on his face.

"Why you!" he stumbles towards me aiming a lousy punch which I dodge with ease. They're all drunk I realize. I can beat them with ease.

**8 ½ minutes later**

I stand back to admire my handiwork. The three of them are lying unconscious on the ground and I got away with a single punch to the shoulder.

I wander over to the girl with pink hair and shake her shoulder gently; she fainted during the fight and is slumped against the wall. I shake her a bit harder when she doesn't wake up. Slowly, her eyes flicker open and she glances over at the three men and then back at me.

"Are you ok?" I ask.

"I'm fine" she replies, "er, thank you very much, I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't turned up."

A slight frown furrows my brow. I know all too well what would have happened. I push the thought of it away.

"I'm Yu-" I cut off and change my mind, "Sakura Mikan" it will be far easier if no one knows my real name.

"I'm Ogasawara Anna" she says, "You can call me Anna if you want."

I give her a smile, "It's nice to meet you Anna-chan, you can call me Mikan."

"Thanks Mikan-chan" she replies a smile appearing on her face.

I smile back warmly and then turn around looking for my shoe. "Have you seen my shoe?"

Anna glances around too, "It's over there," she says, pointing across the alley, "I'll get it." She stands up but her legs are still shaking and she sits back down again.

"Don't worry I'll get it" I say, "You should rest a bit" I add looking over my shoulder as I bend to get my shoe.

The sound of feet running makes me glance back up again. A boy, who I'd guess is about my age, with raven-black hair and crimson coloured eyes is running down the alley panting hard. He's wearing jeans and a black top with a jacket tied casually round his waist.

My head jerks upright as I spot a black sun tattooed on his arm, with a smaller silver sun in the middle. "Tch, more of you huh? And a silver at that" I say standing up straight.

He glances at Anna, then at the three men, then back at me. "What did you d-" He cuts off when my shoe hits him square in the face.

"Leave Anna alone!" I yell.

I approach him and glare down at him glad he fell over because I'm certain that he's taller than me. It's so much harder to be intimidating if you're glaring up at someone.

I bend and pick up my shoe before grabbing Anna's hand, beckoning to Youchi and walking out of the alley.

Anna is looking dumbfounded. "You attacked him" she finally bursts out with.

"Yep" I reply, I'm still replaying the shoe hitting him in the face, it was brilliant.

"Where do you live?" I ask, "I'll take you there."

I don't think Anna heard me. She's gazing off into the distance when she comes to an abrupt halt." "You're not from here are you?" she asks.

"Nope" I reply, "we just arrived here today, we're going to be staying at my cousin's place."

"That explains it," Anna said.

"Explains what?" I ask, curious.

"Why you fought them. Anyone from here knows not to mess with Black Sun.," she answers

"I've heard of Black Sun." I say bitterly, "they had lackeys were I came from too."

"Oh" I think Anna heard the bitterness in my voice because she didn't ask me to elaborate. I ask where she lived again and we walked over there in silence.

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**Natsume's POV**

Who was that girl? There I was running down the alley, hoping I wasn't too late to stop those morons, only to see a girl with waist-length brunette hair and amber eyes stood in the middle of the alley.

I've got to admit that my first impression was that she was hot.

Then I noticed those three goons unconscious on the ground and a scared but relieved looking Ogasawara at the side of the alley.

"What did you d-" When her shoe hits me in the face with such force that I'm knocked over. She walked towards me steadily and her amber eyes are glaring at me with such loathing and hatred I shuffle back slightly, (Not enough that anybody would notice though.) trying to work out what I did to annoy her so much.

As she bends to down to pick up her shoe though, I can't help but smirk.

I watch quietly as she helps Ogasawara up and calls out for a little boy who comes out and takes her outstretched hand and together the three of them walk out of the alley.

I stand up and touch my face gingerly. Ouch. Who'd have thought a shoe would hurt so much? I glance over at the three morons who are groaning in agony. Maybe I got off lightly.

I just stand there, thinking for a while. That girls interesting, maybe too interesting. Black Sun is going to be very interested in her. I smirk again; I'll be seeing you soon, Polka dots.

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**A/N Thanks a lot for reading! So Mikan and Natsume met! By Mikan throwing her shoe at him, I've got to admit that this is probably going to one of my favourite parts of the entire story. It seems quite originally to me too, I mean a shoe? Never seen read that in a fanfic before which I'm really happy with because I already know that there are some really good runaway fics for Gakuen Alice already (like confessions of a runaway and before you hit the ground. Go read those they're amazing!) so I am trying to make sure that this fic is different. Essentially by making it darker I guess. But basically I'm not trying to copy. I just wanted to write about a Mikan who was strong and less foolish and trusting, so yes the characters are going to be OOC for a while but this is more a fic about them becoming more like there selves from the manga and to be honest, the characters are older and have been through different situation it's an AU so there not going to be exactly the same. **

**Sorry, just felt I should warn you because really Mikan is very OOC but there is a good reason for that.**

**Anyway please rate and review, I love to know whenever people are liking my story, or even if your not liking it, I'd love to know. (and why please.)**


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